Wellington City Council is commencing development of a new Coastal Reserves Management Plan to provide direction for the management, protection, and enhancement of Wellington’s coastal reserves, parks, and beaches.
The scope of the plan is proposed to cover the majority of Wellington City’s urban coastline from Oriental Bay to Karori Stream, focusing on coastal reserves, beaches, rocky areas, and public parks, as well as recreational and nature-based assets in reserves and marine areas.
NCDRA is concerned that the estuary of the Kaiwharawhara stream is not included in the scope of the plan (which ends at Oriental Bay), and we will be submitting that this area should be included.
The Kaiwharawhara stream is Wellington’s biggest stream system, and the only remaining open estuary in Wellington Harbour. There were extensive plans to protect it during the construction of the proposed new ferry terminals, but the environmental work in this area has been left uncompleted, and we can see no plans for future protection.
The Kaiwharawhara stream also provides a rare spawning area for Inanga, one of five native freshwater fish species that are known as whitebait. Inanga are found in the Kaiwharawhara Estuary and the lower reaches of the stream.
NCDRA is submitting that the scope of the Coastal PL\lan should be extended to include the Kaiwharawhara Stream estuary, because of its importance to the ecology of wellington, and the need to plan for its future protection.
If anyone else wishes to submit on the plan, this can be done quickly by pinning your ideas directly to a map on the Council’s website here Splash your ideas across our coastal map, or adding your ideas at this page (scroll to bottom) Coastal Reserves Management Plan.